Bright Side
by Zymr
Summary: Okay, dude, I don't care that you look like that. Stop looking at me like that." Post 'The Invasion', Marco and Tobias deal.


**A/N: **I love it when these two combine snark! This was written for my table at the LJ comm. **ka_verse **with the prompt "dots". It takes place the day after their first mission in _The Invasion_

**Bright Side**

***

"What the—"

**.**

"…aaaargh! What—_Tobias_? Tobias, is that _you_?"

// So this is where you live. //

"Next time? _Don't scare the crap out of me_!"

// -I should've knocked.//

"Duh!"

**.**  
**.**

" So. You, uh. Um…"

// Open the window, Marco.//

"Oh. Sure thing. Come- come on in."

**.**

"Huh. Well, well. _Look_ at you, all feathered and glaring. I think I read a comic like this, once-"

// Can I perch here?//

"Su-Sure. Oh, geez, Tobias, that's—you. Oh man. Oh, man. That's really you."

// …I guess you heard.//

"Yeah. Cassie called ahead. She said I 'shouldn't make it worse' for you. Like I could."

**.**  
**.**

"Steady. Don't…don't _flap_ like that, you'll drop my alarm clock. And…don't stare at me like that."

// …Very funny.//

"…I wasn't trying to be."

// Shocker.//

**.**  
**.**  
**.**

" So. So you- You overstayed and turned into a bird."

**.**

" I'd _really_ like to time-travel and bet my past self that he'd never say that sentence. Ever."

//…Huh?//

"Or Jake's past self, that'd be a riot."

// Jake...he said… It was weird, with the others. I never saw Jake like that before. And…and Cassie said it hurt her to see me and then she said sorry, she was so _sorry_, and then… Rachel. Rachel just _stared_ at me; I think she almost cried.//

**.**

"Ohoho, wait a sec. _Rachel_. Cried. And you didn't call me over?"

// —What's wrong with you?!//

"—What's wrong with me? Look at what's wrong with _you_-- you took too long; and now you're a freaking red-tailed hawk; and what, we can turn into _animals_; and we're fighting body-grabbing _aliens_; and we could be gutted, eaten, or captured tomorrow! Connect the dots, bird-brain!"

**.**  
**.**  
**.**

"Crap. _Crap_. I didn't mean— "

// Uh-huh..//

**.**

"I just—I call everyone crazy things. If I can make up a name for someone, I do. It's a riot. Tree-Smoocher. Mallcrawler. Dad Number Two."

// …Dad Number…?//

"…otherwise known as Jake"

// Oooo-kay.//

" You've never heard his talking-to-someone-thirty-years-younger voice?"

// Speaking of Jake. He'll be waiting for me. He said—//

"Wait, you're staying at his house? How exactly—no, let me guess, the old drawer chest? In the Berensons' attic? Jake and Tom kept stray puppies up there once."

// Yeah. He lined the drawer with old blankets, got me a dish, and everything. Heck of a five-star hotel I've got.//

"Boy, you sound grateful. He didn't have to, you know."

**.**

// No. None of us _have_ to do this, none of us _have_ to fight this, isn't that what you say?//

"-Tobias, did you see the guy camped out on the couch down there? Huh? That was my _dad_. You know, sometimes I think I have to water him during the day; he is going to grow roots around the damn TV."

// Hey. Easy.//

**.**  
**.**

"And—and I know I'm scum for even _thinking_ that. I'm _all he's got_. And then, slam, bang, I'm a superhero? No thank you!"

**.**

"You guys call me whatever you want. I don't care."

// I'm not calling anyone anything. Not looking like this.//

**.**  
**.**

"Man. It's…of all times to finally get some guts, dude. If I were you…I'dve killed myself by now."

// …You mean that?//

"Maybe I do."

**.**

"…Maybe not."

// Thought so. Look at me. You'll feel better.//

"You know, some girls do like the way-beyond-depressed poet type. Or think that Eeyore's cute. Just think—you will make the hawkbabes sa-woon. They will fall out of the sky. They will…"

**.**

"…Okay, dude, I don't care that you _look_ like that. Stop looking at me like that."

**.**  
**.**  
**.**

"…This sucks, Tobias. It's like, like there's no choice— I know; it's everything, _everything_ on the line, fine. The human race; _I know that_. But…risking myself—that's different because, because—oh, I don't know, why _me_? Why you? It _is_ like you said. But…look at you."

**.**  
**.**

// I…//

"What?"

**.**  
**.**

// I told Jake, until the Andalites come. Until they come, we fight; it's all good; I'll be…okay. But now, I… I don't know //

**.**

"Score. We finally agreed on something.."

**.**  
**.**  
**.**

"…sorry but what the hell are you doing?"

// It's called preening. Never mind.//

**.**

// Look, Marco, I gotta go. Since you skipped out on class, Jake said to tell you we'll be meeting later. Cassie's barn, at three.//

"Sweet. My best friend in the world, all grown up, leading us to our doom. I think I might cry."

// -He'll get us through.//

"…You know, you really had some nerve, yapping on about making him the leader."

// Hey. If we're going to survive this, it can't be anyone else.//

**.**

"…No kidding, Tobias. It's Jake. I trust him with my life."

// So why'd you say that?//

"…Because, my now-feathered friend, I am really kind of _scared shitless_."

**.**

//…really, now. I couldn't tell.//

"Ha _ha_. Sarcasm. Use it well, young Skywalker."

**.**  
**.**

"…Uh. Skywalker, like _Luke_. Not like…hawk."

// I'd laugh. If I could.//

"Good to know."

**.**  
**.**

// So, anyway. Jake says mastering bird morphs is our agenda. Man, wait till you get up there. If there's a bright side to this…wait till the _thermals_. Carry you off into the sky and then, then it's _infinite_.//

"A— bright side…?"

// …Cut it out.//

"What?"

// Don't make that…that pity face.//

"What face? I was _going_ to say, I always wanted to skydive. And now I'm going to learn…straight from the hawk's mouth. So much for my blonde, long-legged skydiving instructor daydream."

**.**  
**.**

"Hey, hey. Was that a laugh I heard, Bird-boy?"

// …Yeah. Wow. Yeah, it was.//

"Hmmm. Seems I'm not the only one with leggy blonde daydreams, yeah?"

// …Oh, shut up. Good grief.//

"Mmmm-hmm. You'll live."

**.**

//…I will. We all will..//

**.**

// So. I gotta go.//

**.**  
**.**

// One thing—don't start calling me Bird-boy.//

"It's better than bird-brain."

// You're _not_ gonna stop calling me that, are you?//

**.**

"…I'll see you later, Tobias."

// Yeah. See you, Marco.//

***

I based the writing of this fic on author Scott Westerfeld's rules for writing a Dialog Spine story. Basically, they are: 1) Dialogue only, no exceptions, 2) Only **two **characters must speak, 3)To spare any fiddling with attribution or verbal ticks for telling the characters apart, one character uses quotation marks and the other does not


End file.
